Without adding another wing or more shelves, West Virginia University Libraries is about to grow its collection by about 26 million volumes.

This feat is being accomplished through joining the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc., or PALCI, a group of more than 50 academic libraries in the Keystone State with a reciprocal lending and borrowing agreement. WVU and Rutgers University were the first institutions outside of Pennsylvania to be invited to participate.

PALCI enables students, faculty and staff of a member institution to use a Web site to concurrently search the holdings of all participating colleges and universities. After finding a particular title, users can then request the book be sent to a library on their campus.

For students, faculty and staff at WVU, the agreement means quick and easy access to collections at schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Drexel University and dozens of others.

“We’re honored to share those resources,” said Randy Jenkins, interim program coordinator. “Our users are going to have a much larger database to search. It will give our users access to about 26 million books.”

That sentiment is the conventional wisdom among members.

PALCI’s success is evident in its rapid growth to include more than 50 colleges and universities. The popularity of this initiative is clearly demonstrated by its increased use. According to PALCI records, there were 1,000 requests for books each day during the months of August and September.

“That’s a lot of users taking advantage of this service,” Jenkins said.

WVU Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien is eager for library users to begin taking advantage of the collection explosion. The libraries have more than 1.4 million bound volumes but are daily filling Interlibrary Loan requests for materials not available on campus.

“We are continuously striving to enhance our resources, but that task becomes an even greater challenge during lean budget times,” O’Brien said. “PALCI enables us to provide our users with access to millions of books. Purchasing so many volumes would be beyond the reach of any academic library.”

Provost Gerald Lang, who was instrumental in securing WVU’s involvement in the consortium, said the book-sharing agreement will be of great benefit to WVU faculty and students.

“This will provide another resource for reference material for faculty and graduate students engaged in research and undergraduate students working on term papers,” Lang said. “It will be another avenue for increased access to information in this information-based society.”

Along with connecting users to books not found on the WVU campus, PALCI can also eliminate the common frustration of finding that a book is on campus but has already been checked out. If WVU Libraries has a book in its collection but it’s unavailable, users can simply redirect their search to another school. PALCI promises to fill book requests in four business days.

PALCI operates similar to Interlibrary Loan, which library employees use to request all types of materials, such as books, journal articles, microfilm and videotapes. Users make the request to library staff, who then begin the search for the item.

PALCI includes only books and allows users to search for books on their own and learn immediately what libraries have copies of a desired book and if it is available. Users will receive e-mails to inform them when their requested books leave the lending institution and arrive at WVU. They will then pick up their books at the access services desks at the Downtown Campus, Evansdale or Health Sciences libraries.

“It will be a tremendous boon for the people who have made heavy use of Interlibrary Loan in the past,” O’Brien said.

WVU Libraries expects to launch PALCI at the start of spring semester.

On October 2, 2003, the WVU Libraries rededicated the newly restored Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library. This is a record of Gerald Lang’s speech, remarks, and photos from the following reception.

Myra N. Lowe
Associate Dean, WVU Libraries

“We are so fortunate to have this beautifully restored facility. It’s something that gives us so much pride. I recently read that antiques and beautifully restored buildings lend grace to our lives and lift our spirits. I believe that even though this library was built in 1931, there was so much quality, character and beauty restored during the renovation that our users will enjoy what this library has to offer for many, many years.”

Armand Singer
Professor Emeritus, Foreign Languages

“I’ve been around since 1940. This library was quite young, only nine years old – the paint hadn’t even started to peel. Since then, I’ve inhabited the library like a second home. I’ve always had an apartment or a house, but I only half needed it.” “This old part of the library is wonderful. I’m proud of it, and I hope you all are too. We’re a lucky bunch.”

David C. Hardesty Jr.
President, West Virginia University

“I believed in my first year as president and I believe now that a strong library system is critical and undergirds the quality of a great institution. Discovering, absorbing, and transmitting knowledge is still the primary task of students who work here today. This is the next great generation of students and they are seeking to understand the world in which we live and all its problems. And I have great confidence that they are going to get the job done. They’re working hard and they’re using the library to do it.”

Frances O’Brien
Dean, WVU Libraries

“The Library has become a destination for WVU students. Information is easy to come by these days; good public spaces are not. This building has the old fashioned juxtaposition of intellectual riches and luxurious marble, brass, and wood. Far from being an abandoned space, it is alive with readers who want to be here.”

Gerald E. Lang
Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research,
West Virginia University

“I believe we have shown what quality facilities can accomplish on a campus. Namely, we can change the attitudes and habits of students and focus attention on the academic learning environment that is fundamental to student success. The power of place on a campus is important and cannot be overlooked. Whether at the Evansdale Library, our new library, or the renovated Wise Library, we have reached out to better serve our students.” The text of Gerlad Lang’s entire speech follows the photos below:

Dean Frances O’Brien speaks with James Milano following the rededication ceremony. The ceremony was held in the Milano Reading Room, which honors alumni James and Ann Milano who met in the room while students more than 60 years ago.

Ann and James Milano, along with their family and President David C. Hardesty, Jr. and Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien

Susan and James Robinson pose outside of the Robinson Reading Room, which honors the former president of the WVU Foundation.

James Guiher, Elizabeth Guiher, James Hornor Davis III, and West Virginia and Regional History Collection Curator John Cuthbert pose in Davis Family Gallery I.

Provost Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research,
West Virginia University, Gerald Lang’s Speech:

Where Do We Go Next?

Thank you and good morning. What a great day! I thank you all for being here.

I want to begin with a question: What do I have in common with Laura Bush and Charles Vest? We were all invited to speak this morning. Mrs. Bush was unable to commit to being with us today. I believe she is in France on business regarding our national state of affairs. Dr. Vest, a Morgantown native, WVU graduate and now President of MIT, was unavailable due to a prior commitment. I, of course, am most pleased to be here. On behalf of the three amigos, I bring greetings from Laura and Charles.

The Charge And Our Accomplishments

In January 1996, then newly appointed President David Hardesty announced in his State of the University address that we would spend $25 million to build a new library, and he charged me as Provost to oversee the task. In the intervening time we have spent much more and done much more than build a new library – we made a commitment to enhancing all of our campus library facilities, and for this we can take great pride. We built an off-site depository or storage facility, completely renovated Evansdale Library, built the new downtown library, and completely renovated Wise Library. The new library you entered to walk to this stunning reading room exemplifies our work.

We have also invested in improvements to our Law Library and our Math Library. And now our Health Sciences Center is planning its new health sciences learning center, which will include state-of-the-art technology-driven facilities along with a renovation of their library. I am confident in the future success of this project as Ruthie Nellis will help guide the process, just as she did for us over the past six years in the general university. In these difficult economic times, this institution has shown its commitment to the intellectual core of learning – the storage and access to knowledge and information in first class facilities. But I would note – we have done more than create these wonderful facilities. These facilities only serve as surrogates for our real goal, namely to create state-of-the-art technological and physical learning environments to nurture student learning, to foster research, and to support economic development – all part of the University’s land-grant mission. Now nearly eight years after my charge from President Hardesty, I declare the task complete.

In my remarks from the groundbreaking ceremony on June 20, 1999, West Virginia Day, I referenced a book titled Library the Drama Within. I shared a few visions from that book as a way to bring alive our vision for the future. The opening line of the Introduction to the book stated: “Libraries are exciting and inspirational places that change lives.” Oh how true for Jim and Ann Milano who met in this library, in this room, named for them in recognition of their generosity. Clearly their lives were changed. As I walk through this room on a typical school day, I can’t help but wonder who next will be influenced by this place.

A second image I referenced was the classical reading room lined with bookcases. The two quotes I used were: “A bookcase is as good a view, as the sight of a city or a river.” Or, “There were many hours when I never quite knew how I’d gotten there or why I stayed.” Looking around this room, it is easy to see why the view is spectacular and why people choose to stay. Yes our WVU libraries are places of knowledge, transforming people, changing lives.

Let me talk briefly about our other investments in our libraries. New technology abounds, for example. Rush Miller, Director of the University of Pittsburgh, University Library System, served as a consultant for us throughout the past six years. When he was here for a visit last spring to see the fruits of our labor, he noted that our technology was more advanced than that at most academic libraries throughout the country. We made the choice to invest heavily into technology, and it is evident to those who use our libraries and to those who visit and have a broader frame of reference with which to judge. 200 computers are available for our students, plus special multimedia project rooms. Often all of the computers are in use by 10:00 AM, sometimes with students waiting for access. 1000 of the 1200 user seats are “hot” and ready for Internet access if you bring your personal laptop. Our students and faculty have access to 10,000 full-text journals on-line. For them these journals are available anytime, anywhere, even in their offices and in their homes. This was not the case a few years ago, as we did not have the capacity to handle this amount of digital information.

We have also not forgotten our roots, namely printed materials. For the past three years we have committed offline an additional $100K each year for new monographs from a special account in Academic Affairs in spite of budget reductions. And Dean O’Brien has matched that investment. Together, we have been able to purchase approximately 4100 additional new University Press monographs annually. Not to do so would mean another opportunity lost in support of our academic programs for future generations. I remain committed to making this annual investment for several more years.

At this time, I want to acknowledge Dr. Nancy Lohmann, former Senior Associate Provost. Nancy worked on the library initiative from its inception. She oversaw much of the conceptual development early on, negotiating with the library staff on what would be our collective vision. A story might help at this point. Either Nancy or I or both of us would walk through the former facilities counting patrons. On most occasions, the library was underutilized. There were few patrons. Nancy and I were told that we had come at the wrong time. So we went back – in the mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekdays and weekends. The library was rarely crowded. The case for a new library could not be made on use. It was our belief, however, that the facility was underutilized because it was unwelcoming – it was worn and tired; it was a technological dinosaur; it did not provide an environment where students wanted to go to read and study. It was not the place where Jim and Ann Milano met nor where David and Susan Hardesty studied. One faculty colleague even told me she would not encourage her students to use the library because it was so outdated.

The famous line from the movie “Field of Dreams” – build it and they will come – clearly applies. We did; they have. This building is filled daily. As Dean O’Brien noted earlier, we have had our one-millionth patron just yesterday. Students are waiting to use the computers. We have even extended the hours until 2 AM five nights (mornings) a week to accommodate demand. Here is what the undergraduate students say.

* It is amazing. I think it is great.

* I love the study area in the downtown library. You know the two huge rooms in the back, with beautiful wood tables, chairs, statues and personal lamps. It is always quiet, peaceful. This place incites me to study.

* Wise Library is by far one of the most welcoming useful libraries that I have encountered over the years.

Users also say:

* Cell phones are always ringing…. they should not be allowed. [This is the number one complaint.]

* Longer hours, please.

* More computers.

We have done well. These challenges are good ones to face.

I believe we have shown what quality facilities can accomplish on a campus. Namely, we can change the attitudes and habits of students and focus attention on the academic learning environment that is fundamental to student success. The power of place on a campus is important and cannot be overlooked. Whether at the Evansdale Library, our new library, or the renovated Wise Library, we have reached out to better serve our students.

My daughter never used the old library; she now has her “spot” at the Evansdale Library, which she uses routinely.

At breakfast Dean O’Brien thanked our faculty and staff for their support in creating book endowments. Through the Building Greatness Campaign – faculty, staff, friends, alumni – all have contributed in multiple ways to allow us to have the facilities we have today. I too want to say thank you to our donors who are here today for your commitment to the intellectual soul of our campus. I use “soul” because like our current Dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Duane Nellis, I too, as the former Dean, would refer to the College of Arts and Sciences as the heart of the University. Where there is a heart, there must be a soul and that is our libraries. It gives value and meaning to the breadth of the academic experience.

I want to thank Dorothy Dotson – she established an endowment in my name, and for it I have a study room named in the new facility. My wife and I made the library a recipient of our campaign gift, and we created two book endowments. We dedicated a rocker to our daughter and granddaughter. Yes, it is personal! I am invested in and concerned for the future success of our Libraries.

Where Do We Go Next?

Paul Metz, a bibliographer at Virginia Tech wrote in journal Change: “No one involved in higher education today can afford to ignore the revolution now beginning to transform scholarly and scientific communication. This revolution will with increasing speed utterly recast our research, our instruction, our libraries and computer centers, and even our institutional identifies.” Remarks of today? No. These remarks were made in 1995. Was he not right? Absolutely, without question. If my remarks had a title it would be the question: where do we go next? Libraries have changed substantially since even a decade ago. Card catalogs are gone. Technology is here. Theses and dissertations are now housed electronically. In fact, all information about the WVU library and its holdings is now web-based. Where will academic libraries be in another 10 years?

The Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken, speaks to our challenge. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” I suggest this idea is the challenge we confront as we move our libraries forward from a historically solid print-based foundation to one of less certainty as we confront technology. Clearly the advent of technology is providing the road less traveled by and the one for which we do not know the journey’s end. We are on a journey with an unpredictable end, but we must keep moving forward.

What will be the structure and function of academic libraries a decade from now? Many are asking that question, but no one has the answer. Unfortunately, our visions of the future library are set in the constraints and debates of today. Think back for a moment – the Internet did not exist 10 years ago. Today, we can’t imagine life without it. We cannot know what the future brings a decade from now, either in terms of technology or in terms of the uncertain fiscal realities we face in higher education. But nonetheless, it is valuable to imagine.

It is important that we continue to ask and attempt to answer questions like: How will technology further change academic culture? What will be the function of the place we call “The Library”? What will our patrons expect? What will be the role for librarians in the future? Let me briefly address each.

How Will Technology Change Our Library?

Prevailing wisdom would suggest that technology will drive change in academic libraries. But, where will technology take us?

* Technology will provide a richer information environment than today. As such, our electronic resources will command a larger percentage of the budget.

* The transformational forces of technology that have both burdened and reinvented our libraries will continue – we will see growth in our digital content but also demand for print-based publication as well.

* We will not see an orderly progression of change. Instead, we can predict that change will be interrupted by a technological explosion now and again as technology takes another leap forward. As with the advent of the Internet, some new means by which we will access digital depositories will revolutionize our ways of learning.

* We must begin to think of our libraries as more than physical collections. Oh they will continue to be that. But at the same time the digital age will change the modern library to a vast global collection, serving an international knowledge commons. We will begin to see a robust collection of information assembled in this global commons. We will see global partnerships for information sharing.

Technology is the wild card in the plan for the future library. The evolutionary growth in technology will change our libraries, to the chagrin of some and to the delight of others.

What Will Be “The Library”?

If we hearken back to Ralph Waldo Emerson, he writes in his journal in 1873, “Be a little careful of your Library. Do you foresee what you will do with it? But the real question is, What will it do with you? You will come here & get books that will open your eyes, & your ears, & your curiosity, & turn you inside out or outside in.”

I believe Emerson’s words remain true today. We have created a special place that challenges our soul and our emotions.

Our libraries will continue to provide a place for legacy collections, a place to read and wonder, a place to work in teams, a place to access knowledge, a place to obtain personal assistance. I want to suggest, however, that a change in structure of the library will also occur and at a rapid rate – from one defined strictly by physical location to one defined by its functions through technology, something Emerson could have never imagined.

* Libraries will become the entity that manages documents and access to information.

* Collections will change – they will become patron-selected, provided through consortial arrangements with other libraries and information providers.

* Consortia will be formed to collaborate on the creation and publication of academic journals.

What Will Our Patrons Want From Our Libraries?

Our key patrons are the faculty and student of West Virginia University. Each, I suggest, will want something different.

* Undergraduate students will still want that physical place to come to read and study. They will, however, want Internet access at their study site and will move easily between printed and electronic formats as they do research and write papers.

* Students go on to become alumni. Graduates expect the kinds of facilities and capabilities they grew accustomed to during their college years. An informed public can no longer function without extensive access to information resources. Institutions will need to consider how to make institutional repositories part of a universal free and open scholarship program.

* Faculty will seek desktop access to vast stores of information and expect the library to deliver this anytime, anywhere. Those in engineering and the sciences will especially want access to the latest discoveries available in electronic formats from electronic journals. And although we identify humanities scholars with traditional print matter, even our humanities faculty rely on our full-text electronic journals, like those in the database Project MUSE.

What Will Be The Role Of Librarians?

In a 2003 survey of our library, we learned a couple of interesting facts. First, to confirm our beliefs, we learned that our librarians are viewed by our patrons as a true strength of the library. “Courteous, helpful, skilled, wonderful” are but a few of the adjectives used to describe our librarians. Both the library faculty and the library staff exemplified great patience during our building and remodeling efforts and they worked long hours in the final days to make this library a reality for our patrons. These individuals and Dean O’Brien deserve our recognition and thanks for the job they do.

On a day to day basis, librarians are the guides along the journey to access information both in print and digital formats. Our librarians are the keys to the new library. Our faculty and students, while comfortable with technology, will need specialized training to gain access to the vast amounts of information stored in digital formats and to evaluate its value.

We must ask what tools our librarians will need in 2013. Providing annual training for our librarians is going to be essential so that they can keep up-to-date. I predict our librarians will be teaching more, often having individualized contact with patrons both in person and at a remote site, as they bridge the world between technology and humans. They will be knowledge-providers. They will need to be skilled at going back and forth between print and technology. They will need to be versed in the most modern technology, the tool that will aid in the evaluation and organization of information. Within a decade, libraries will be overflowing with information. The task will be for librarians to bring order and access to the boundless body of knowledge, information, and imagination.

Issues We Face

I have directly alluded to the issues facing our academic libraries over the next decade:

* An unknown but explosive technology
* Fiscal constraints compounded by unrelenting inflation
* Increased patron expectations
* Lack of ability to build collections because of the vast information explosion
* Need to provide anytime, anywhere access
* Highly skilled knowledge-brokers

Of these, each academic library will respond to its technology and personnel needs within its budgetary constraints.

On the other hand, the development of consortium of libraries together with a global commons of free, accessible resources provides a solution to the inability for any library to develop fully its own collections and meet its patrons needs with anywhere, anytime access. This solution responds to nationwide faculty criticism regarding the lack of depth within collections. More libraries will be joining consortia to increase their holdings in a way none can do by themselves.

WVU Becomes A Member of PALCI

At this time, I am pleased to announce a very special partnership for West Virginia University. WVU has recently accepted an invitation to join PALCI, the Pennsylvania Academic Libraries Consortium, Inc. PALCI provides a virtual online union catalog using a web-based interface to search catalogs of member institutions concurrently and then facilitate the direct borrowing of materials. Our participation in this consortium opens up to our faculty and students access to the holdings of nearly 40 consortium schools including the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, as well as Rutgers University. Or to put it in other terms, access to nearly 26 million volumes in the libraries of the consortium institutions is now available. We have, in effect, increased our holdings 25-fold. And if you go to the PALCI web site, you will see West Virginia University proudly displayed as a member institution. I want to thank Rush Miller and Dan Iddings, Director of PALCI, for inviting WVU into the Consortium. This means so much to us, and on behalf of our faculty and students a special Mountaineer thank you!

Concluding Comments

Germaine Greer, a contemporary feminist writer states, “Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark. The pleasure they give is steady, reliable, deep, and long-lasting.” She could have been talking about WVU’s wonderful libraries.

We have a very fine library! We have great facilities and technology. We have a user-friendly staff that embraces a service delivery mission. We have 10,000 full text electronic journals. We have become part of a great 21st century consortium of academic libraries thereby increasing access to a richer monograph collection. We are committed to continue to change and adapt as necessary over the next decade. We are committed to pursuing new avenues for collaboration that might lead to a global commons. We have much to be proud of.

Thank you for joining us today.

After about $4 million was spent to renovate 85,755 square feet of the Charles C. Wise, Jr., Library, it has much the same look as it did more than 70 years ago.

“All the spaces in this building are deliberately sort of old fashioned and (have a) classic library look,” Dean of Libraries Frances O’Brien said.

Much attention was paid to the two reading rooms in the newly restored library, one named after James V. and Ann Pozega Milano and the other after James Robinson, O’Brien said.

“Effort was made to take them back to how they probably looked in 1931 when the library was built,” she said.

Tables and chairs from the original library are in the new one. Some of the chairs still have their 1930 inventory tags on them, O’Brien said.

Although there was a concentrated effort to make the library look like it did in the beginning of the 20th century, there was almost a back-to-the-future type of effort as well.

The original tables from the 1930 were modified to include data ports to which students can connect lap-top computers.

“The technology is here if you want it; it’s just more subtle (than the newer part of the library),” O’Brien said.

The renovations have also made room for things other than books.

“The library has an art collection concerned with art that has something to do with West Virginia,” said Curator of the West Virginia Collection John Cuthbert.

With two art galleries, “We’re re ally happy that we have the opportunity to display our art collection so that students can see it,” Cuthbert said.

The library also has an extensive collection of historical documents.

“WVU started collecting archives and historical papers and other things early in this century really due to the fact that somebody at WVU realized that there wasn’t a state historical society,” Cuthbert said.

Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia all have separate state historical societies that handle historical documents, he said.

The library houses around 125,000 photographs related to West Virginia collections in literally every field, Cuthbert said.

“One of the best things about this new facility is that it gives us space,” he said. “Generally in the past we have been just a research library where people can come in and basically use something one-on-one at a table.”

We’ve not had the ability to more or less share any of our collections, because we have not had much space to exhibit things,” Cuthbert said.

“We have more space generally throughout our facility to set up displays,” said Cuthbert.

Currently there are some artifacts dating to the Civil War on display in the library.

Donated by the granddaughter of a man from Pendleton county who served under Stonewall Jackson, some very rare pieces are on display.

“We also have a great music collection,” Cuthbert said.

“There was a WVU professor back in the 1930s who purchased a machine that cut metal records,” he said. “He was interested in folk music and would put (the record cutting machine) in his car and drive out in West Virginia looking for fiddle and folk players and cut records right there.”

“We have 647 of those records containing over 2,000 songs that pre-date most of radio,” he said.

There is a very extensive collection of archives housed in the newly renovated portion of Wise Library.

“(Floors) seven, eight, nine and 10 are full floors of just bookshelves,” said Cuthbert.

“We’ve filled every single one of those floors with our archival collection. In addition to that, we have about half of the fourth floor with additional archival storage,” he added.

The library will be rededicated on Saturday at 11 a.m. Restorations were made possible by the generous donations of many people and their families that were close to the University, O’Brien said.

“We’re just really happy with the way the restoration turned out,” she said.

(MEDIA: WVU will rededicate the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. The event will include a brief program in the Milano Reading Room, tours of the renovated facility and an unveiling of a Wall of Honor recognizing library supporters.)

An exam fast approaches and a West Virginia University student quietly studies in the James V. and Ann Pozega Milano Reading Room. No computer is near, just a stack of books, notes and a Craftsman-style table lamp illuminating the pages.

The light is new, but the table and chair where she’s sitting are original to the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library. The addition is part of an extensive, one-year renovation project focused on preserving the traditional appearance of the 70-year-old library while making it functional for today’s students.

Based on the crowds who began flocking to the space when the doors opened in January 2003, the results have been a success.

Elizabeth Lee, a doctoral student in history, rarely visited Wise library before the facelift. Now, she can regularly be found in the Milano Room.

“Since the renovation, it’s been great working here,” Lee said. “There’s so much light. The chairs are more comfortable. This is my favorite place in the library to study.”

She finds the area more conducive to studying, and being a historian, she likes the more traditional look.

In agreement is Jane Rago, who is pursuing her doctorate in English. She appreciates having the soft chairs to relax in while reading her many assignments.

“It makes working here so much easier. The room is inspiring,” Rago said.

Renovated Wise has two main reading rooms.

In its former life, the Milano Room served as the reference room. It was also the place where more than 60 years ago James V. Milano approached Ann Pozega and asked her to a movie at the Metropolitan Theater on High Street. The Milanos are originally from Monongalia County, and their romance continues today. The Milano Room houses the 5,000-volume Appalachian Collection.

On the opposite side of the building is the Robinson Reading Room. Once the home of the government documents collection, the room now honors James Robinson, who served 14 years as president of the WVU Foundation. The Robinson Room contains a large portion of the literature collection.

In both reading rooms, wooden bookshelves now line the walls and portraits of past University presidents adorn the spaces above the shelves. The original tables and chairs have been refinished and have gained two additions: reading lamps and Internet drops that allow laptop users to connect to the Web. Great care was taken to hide the drops to preserve the ambiance of a traditional reading room.

Adding to the atmosphere, both rooms have two clusters of soft lounge chairs with each chair flanked by a floor lamp matching the style of the table lamps.

The two rooms are connected by the original Wise lobby, which also underwent a lengthy restoration process. Workers paid particular attention to the majestic green marble archways and the intricate multi-layered ceiling molding. Crews also cleaned and polished and the grillwork on the back wall. New black and white floor tiles complete the lobby and contribute to its formal style.

The result is a scholarly environment that preserves the building’s history. It’s an effort that makes Associate Dean Myra N. Lowe proud. She’s been with the library for three decades and saw the potential in the wooden tables and chairs that had begun showing their age. So she finds it especially gratifying to hear others who recognize the craftsmanship and aesthetic beauty of the library. Visiting alumni often share with her how they dropped in to recapture some memories from their days on campus and were touched to see the reading rooms.
Lowe agrees.

“I’m so pleased with how it turned out,” she said. “Literally every day, I take a few minutes to walk up to one of the reading rooms because I feel inspired when I look at them. They provide such a beautiful traditional library setting.”
Renovations to Wise also allowed the West Virginia and Regional History Collection to return to its original home on the sixth floor. In 1980, space limitations forced the collection to move across University Avenue to Colson Hall.

The new facility allows a dramatic increase in storage space enabling the WVRHC to consolidate holdings that were formerly spread out among several buildings across campus. Today the public reading area for the WVRHC is on the sixth floor, the fifth floor provides storage for the College of Creative Arts’ and the WVRHC’s art collections, and floors seven through 10 house the archives.

WVRHC curator John Cuthbert ranks two exhibition galleries among the greatest assets of the new facility. The Davis Family Galleries allow the library to put the treasures of its collection on public display for the first time.

“Unfortunately, until now, these things have been kept primarily in closed storage, available only to researchers on an individual basis,” Cuthbert said. “The new Davis Family Galleries will change all that and provide an entirely new educational dimension to our program.”

Sketches by David Hunter Strother were on display during the spring semester, and Cuthbert anticipates changing exhibits to focus on different parts of the collection on a bi-annual basis.

The relocation also made security improvements possible.

In Colson Hall, users of rare and non-rare materials shared the same reading room, which made it difficult to keep an eye on valuable collections in use. The new space in Wise, however, has the Stealey Manuscripts Reading Room, a distinct reading room that can be monitored from several vantage points whenever rare materials are in use.

Renovations to Wise were the second phase in the Downtown Library Complex. The first was the Downtown Campus Library built on the front lawn of Wise. An atrium connects the two buildings.

The Downtown Campus Library opened to students in January 2002. The five-floor, state-of-the-art facility has 180 Dell computers with high-speed Internet access, Internet drops at every table and study carrel, 15 group study rooms, five media viewing rooms that enable students to meet in groups to work on projects and a large group classroom capable of hosting teleconferences.

“It makes me happy that our institution was able to provide a beautiful modern library but also a wonderful renovated facility. It gives students a real choice,” Lowe said. “We finally have a facility that is big enough to accommodate the students who want to use the library.”

A love of history and West Virginia University which has been a legacy within one Charleston family will now be memorialized through the Jack & Sheila Grimm History Library Endowment which was recently established at the WVU Foundation.

“The impact of WVU and the Department of History has been profound upon my family, and I believe it is critical that we give back so that others may also share in our experience” says Jack Grimm of his donation. The fund will assist in the acquisition of library materials to support the academic and research programs of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of History.

Jack Grimm, executive vice president of City Insurance, earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1964 while his wife, Sheila, was busy completing a physical education degree in dance. Thirty years later, the Grimms watched their eldest son, Stephen, receive a bachelor’s degree in history from WVU.

Like his father, Stephen completed a tour of duty with the US Air Force before joining the business world. Their second son, Peter, is currently pursing a degree in history at WVU. In the future, WVU might see another history major from the family, which also includes two daughters and six grandchildren.

The proceeds from the Grimm History Library Endowment will assist the college’s Department of History with needed resources for faculty researchers and scholars. The endowment is another critical component to the university’s desire to maintain library collections that complement the institution’s academic strengths so that all departments may remain competitive with other national research institutions. The Department of History is widely recognized as a leader in the field of Appalachian and labor studies, as well as American history and African history.

The Jack & Sheila Grimm History Library Endowment is included in the West Virginia Universality Foundation’s Building Greatness Campaign, which has raised more than $270 million for WVU and concludes in December 2003. The WVU Foundation Inc. is a private non-profit organization, which develops, receives, and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of WVU.

BY MONTE MAXWELL

Cheryl Torsney has long appreciated the works of Henry James. The professor of English has read everything James has written and turns students onto his writing. So purchasing an antique set of his works involved a little sentiment.

She knew she found a treasure and received confirmation during the Book Lovers’ Road Show held Aug. 1 in the Robinson Reading Room of the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library.

“I was surprised to learn that my set of James’s New York Edition has tripled in value since I bought it about 10 years ago,” Torsney said. “That makes it a pretty good investment.”

Torsney was among 65 people who stood in line to discover if that book handed down from a grandparent or picked up at a yard sale is a gem.

Jack Walsdorf, with help from WVU Libraries staff, offered appraisals on more than 120 books. Walsdorf, the author/editor of 15 books relating to the history of printing and bibliography, travels the country with his version of Public Television’s Antique Road Show.

Rather than antiques, his expertise is books. Along with setting price tags for books, Walsdorf also offered the audience tips for book collecting.

This event was his first stop in North Central West Virginia. Dean
Frances O’Brien said the Book Lovers’ Road Show will become an
annual event for the WVU Libraries.

See the story with photo and caption in (PDF).

Photo: Ian Benson/The Dominion Post

Book expert Jack Walsdorf evaluates some old books, including “The Indian Fairy Book,” in his hand and, from left, a 1882 volume “Daughters of America” and a 1912 brightly illustrated edition of “Just So Stories.” The WVU Libraries hosted his “Book Lovers’ Road Show” at Wise Library on Friday. More than 70 people came to have their books evaluated.

Jack Walsdorf lovingly caressed the 1882 illustrated book, “Daughters of America.”

The daughters appeared in battered condition — one side of the spike broken through, portions of the cover showing attention from silverfish.

He shook his head.

“In real estate, it’s location, location, location. In books, it’s condition, condition, condition,” he said. It would cost, he estimated, about $75 to restore the volume. And there’s no indication anyone would want to buy the volume, written by Phoebe A. Hanaford.

“If you look on the Internet and the book comes in less than $100, I would suggest you not spend any money doing anything to it, because you won’t get your money back,” he said.

Walsdorf and his “Book Lovers’ Road Show” were at Wise Library Friday, sponsored by the WVU Libraries, to talk about the joys of book collecting and to appraise books brought by those present.

At a show, 95 percent of the people want to know how much a book is worth. About 5 percent want to know about a book they have.

“If a book is not in good condition, if there’s water damage, if there’s light damage, if the dust jacket is missing or in poor condition, all of those things hugely affect the value of a book,” he said before the event began. He turned over another volume, this one with an illustrated cover: “Shorthand Tom the Reporter” by Edward Stratemeyer.

“The frontspiece is missing (title page), and the cover is damaged,” he noted. “It’s virtually valueless. But if you would put this book cover outward on a stand, next to an old antique typewriter, it would be a great book. Aesthetically, that’s one of the uses of a nice book, to have it around.

“I remind people, books are not generally very good investments,” he added. Buy books because you like them, or because they have some interest for you.

He tells book owners what it would cost to replace a book. “I’m not telling you what someone would want to pay for it,” he said. “I bet you I’m wrong 50 percent of the time because there are so many ways to value books.”

“Personally, I think the best collections are theme collections — buy something you like, something you are interested in — and you can put together a nice personal collection.”

How do you build a collection?

“Look for the subject within the subject. You can’t buy children’s books (there are too many), so you buy children’s pop-up books, nursery rhymes.

“Then you’re going to look for the condition, and then you’re going to look for first editions. Generally speaking, most books published after 1930 will have the words ‘First Edition’ on the reversal of the title page.”

Older books, such as the two he handled, require more work to determine if they’re first editions.

If you’re checking the value of your book on the Internet, Walsdorf advised, read the description carefully to make sure it’s the same book, the same edition. Read the entry carefully for differences, such as whether it’s autographed.

Take care to preserve your old books, he said.

“As a general rule, the greatest enemies of books are heat, light and water. The fourth greatest enemies of books are people.”

Never store books in basements. Keep them away from sunlight, which will bleach the covers. Don’t keep them in rooms with high heat and low humidity, it will dry a book out.

“Most everybody responds to old books,” said Frances O’Brien, dean of West Virginia University’s libraries. “Any librarian will tell you that one of the most fun things we do is introduce people to old books. They can actually hold in their hands something that was around when Ben Franklin was alive.”

But is that dusty old tome actually worth something? Would-be collectors can find out Friday when old-book guru Jack Walsdorf brings his Book Lovers’ Road Show to the James Robinson Reading Room at WVU’s Charles C. Wise Jr. Library in Morgantown.

Walsdorf, a retired librarian, bookshop proprietor and collector, will offer book collecting advice and stories and appraisals of old books beginning at 5 p.m. About 50 people have already called the library to say they plan to attend the event, said O’Brien.

Like the cast of the similarly named “Antiques Road Show” TV series, Walsdorf travels the country looking at old books and offering opinions about their value. He takes the show to Marshall University at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

While some signed and rare books can be worth thousands of dollars — and carry price tags to prove it — old and valuable books still pop up in the most mundane places.

Walsdorf likes to talk about the thrill of finding a valuable book nestled in a stack of more or less ordinary titles. “You can still find rare and unique things by just going around used bookshops,” O’Brien said.

WVU’s own historic book collection, which will not be on display Friday, includes some volumes dating from Elizabethan times. “We have some nice Milton first editions,” O’Brien said, as well as a collection of prints illustrating scenes from Shakespeare’s works.

Books don’t have to be quite that old to be valuable, if only to their owners. “All of us have books around our homes that are old and are special to us,” he said.

O’Brien plans to bring two of her own old books — an antique cookbook and a picture book about the Civil War — for Walsdorf’s studied eye.

“They’re special to me, but I don’t know if they’re valuable,” she said. “It will be interesting to see what he has to say about them.”

For information on the road show, call 293-4040.

Pick up an old book at a yard sale for 25 cents and think you found a treasure? Have a cherished volume your grandfather passed on to you? Curious what they’re worth?

If it’s a signed first-edition of Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, it could net up to $1,000. Other signed volumes by Papa Hemingway could fetch between $2,000 and $3,000.

Such a find is rare, hence the lofty price tag. But similar jewels can be found on bookshelves and in boxes everywhere. Just ask Jack Walsdorf, an antiquarian book appraiser and collector, when his traveling book show hits campus.

The Friends of the WVU Libraries will host the Book Lovers’ Road Show at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, in the Robinson Reading Room of the Charles C. Wise Jr. Library. Walsdorf will talk about the joys of book collecting and provide individual book appraisals. The event begins with a reception in the library atrium.

“This event is a splendid opportunity to learn more about books, talk with others who share a love for books and discover if you have a hidden treasure at home,” Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien said. “I’ve heard Mr. Walsdorf before. He’s a knowledgeable and captivating speaker.”

Walsdorf is the author/editor of 15 books relating to the history of printing and bibliography. He earned his master’s of library science degree from the University of Wisconsin and has more than 30 years of bookselling experience.

The bibliophile credits a teacher for turning him on to reading back in high school. By the end of college, he was an ardent collector and the fever never receded.

Today, he lives in a Portland, Ore., house filled with books. He figures there are at least 7,000 books and 1,000 of them are signed first editions. However, he admits, none are penned by Hemingway, who’s among the top five most sought-after authors.

“I’m still a real book hunter,” said Walsdorf, who estimates his collection grows by 500 books a year. “I only read 100 books a year, so I’m running a 400 book-a-year deficit.”

That galloping pace is not for everyone, still Walsdorf is quick to stress that book collecting is for everyone and that finances should not be an issue. He believes someone could build a great library with a couple hundred dollars. The larger investment would be time poring through stacks of hardbacks at used bookstores, Goodwill, library book sales and yard sales. And then there are the online sites. But before setting out, do some research, he suggests.

“There’s an interesting phrase in book collecting: ‘It’s not the early bird that gets the worm; it’s the bird that knows the worm that gets it,’” Walsdorf said. “It doesn’t matter if you and I are both looking at the same time. What matters is what we know and our interests.”

Persistence also plays a part, says Walsdorf. One must be willing to pick up literally hundreds of books before finding that sought-after book.

“There’s always something buried, but you have to look,” Walsdorf advises.

The event is free to members of the Friends of the WVU Libraries, and there is a $2.50 charge for nonmembers.

West Virginia University Libraries – including the new Downtown Library Complex – will remain free and open to the public, officials said Wednesday (July 2).

Recent news reports and headlines were somewhat misleading on this issue.

“While it is true that escalating costs for books, journals, subscriptions and access to online databases has forced the University to charge a $50 fee for residents and a $75 fee for non-residents to check out materials, individuals can and should feel free to just walk in and use our services and most materials at no charge,” library officials said. Individuals also can use guest computers to access materials for free.

This new fee for a library card applies to the general public only. Students pay a $30 fee each semester as part of the University fee structure; faculty and staff are not charged a fee.